After dining with the Principality’s royals and enjoying a warm bath, Olivia, Roxanne, and Yunyun were running on fumes. Since arriving, they had been on high alert, overthinking their every action to avoid causing an incident. By the time they finished bathing, they could scarcely stand. Having had her fill of tormenting them, Hertrude asked a few servants to escort them to their quarters.
“Goodnight… everyone…” Yunyun swayed side to side, struggling to keep her eyes open. “Thank you for your hospital, Princess… uh… Gertrude and Hermione.”
“Yes, thank you very—”
Smack!
Olivia ran into a wall and slid onto the floor. “I am sorry… I did not see you there, sir.”
Roxanne wandered toward an open window, mistaking it for the door. Servants dashed over, grabbing her just before she fell out. With pitying looks, they helped the women out of the room, swearing to look after them.
As the door closed, Hertrude and Hertrauda lost it. They howled with laughter, almost falling out of their seats.
“Hehe! That was the most entertaining evening I have had in quite some time.” Hertrude wiped a bit of cream from her lips. “Are they always that nervous around nobles and royals?”
“The three of them are commoners.” Angelica took another shaky bite of cake. She struggled to maintain her composure after watching her dear friends. “As you know, not all nobles in the Kingdom treat commoners with dignity and respect. They are from territories where the nobles have beaten the public into submission. On top of that, just weeks ago our nations were bitter enemies. Both factors combined created… well, whatever you call that.”
‘We attempted to help them relax several times, but their tension prevented them from listening. In time, they will overcome their fears and act normally around us all.” Clarice sipped her tea. “Moving on. Is it safe to assume you have something you wish to discuss with us? If you didn’t, you would have dismissed us with the three of them.”
The princesses leaned back in their seats, playful smiles tugging at their lips. It was refreshing to speak with someone who bypassed pleasantries. Most nobles were too cowardly to speak or did not know when to shut up.
“That is correct.” Hertrauda took over for her older sister. “To be frank, we summoned you here for something other than discussing tactics. As you likely know, thanks to Lord Aremus, we halted the Holy Kingdom’s subversion in our lands. We gained several dozen Magic Knights during the traitor purging. Our leading experts have been working to reverse-engineer them, but have thus far had no luck. From what we have gathered, Lord Aremus is an expert in advanced technology and magical research.”
Angelica, Clarice, Deirdre, and Lucoa looked at Leon. They knew he was very knowledgeable, but did not know the full extent of his capabilities. For the two princesses to call him an expert, they had to reevaluate their assessment of him… again.
I grinned. “Your information is correct. I’m the foremost expert in the world on both subjects. Give me a few hours with one machine. I will have it taken apart and a detailed report for you.”
“You aren’t upset about us deceiving you?” A flicker of annoyance flashed across Hertrude’s face. ‘I wanted to get under his skin a little as payback for ruining our family’s garden. Instead, he doesn’t seem to care at all about it. What’s wrong with this man?’
“Small things like this aren’t worth getting worked up about. While our two nations may have bad blood, you are an honorable woman. Once you give your word, you will stand by it until the other party gives you a reason not to. That is why, no matter what happens after our victory, I hope we can still be friends. People like you are a rarity in this world.”
Hertrude looked into his eyes, her face flushed red. His genuine words pierced her frozen maiden heart like an ice pick. She had only ever received half-hearted compliments from men about her natural beauty. This was an unfamiliar experience for her, and for a moment her heart throbbed.
Hertrauda fist-pumped under the table. ‘Hehe, I knew it! You can deny it all you want, but you are smitten with Lord Aremus. Don’t worry, your precious little sister has your back.’
‘My little Hertrude, I wish your parents were alive to see this.’ From close by, Vandel watched her reaction with a soft expression. ‘With no male heir, they feared you would forsake love in pursuit of carrying out your duties as the future Queen. With what little time I have left in this world, this old man will do all he can to secure your happiness.’
Cough!
Angelica’s icy stare jolted them back to the present. Hertrude’s maidenly reaction had confirmed she would one day become a rival in love. Before then, Angelica had to confirm Princess Hertrude was not another snake like Marie. She had learned a hard lesson: never believe what you see with your eyes alone.
“Did I upset you?” Hertrude felt her intense gaze.
“It’s nothing.” Angelica scooted closer to Leon. “Before we return to the Kingdom, I’d like to speak with you in private. Are you able to arrange that?”
Hertrude nodded. She was not sure what was happening, but her instincts told her to go along with it. She would lose something irreplaceable if she refused.
“Anyway, can we rely on your help, Lord Aremus?” Hertrude slid back behind her aloof facade. “We will compensate you for your work, of course. The Principality always rewards effort and hard work.”
I nodded. While the mechs themselves were of little value to me, their materials were a different story. Luxion had recovered countless blueprints and schematics for far more advanced mechs from the data disks I bought from Wiz. My plan was to melt down my reward and create a custom mech for myself.
‘I would have already built one if not for the material constraints. Luxion can’t replicate magic metals with the Mass Fabricator.’
I leaned back in my chair. “Let’s plan on looking at them tomorrow after breakfast. Does that work for you?”
“I will make the arrangements.” Hertrude and Hertrauda rose from their seats. “That was all we wanted to discuss. The servants will show you to your rooms now. Sleep well.”
“Likewise…” Angelica latched onto Leon’s arm.
We stood and followed the servants out.
---3rd Person POV---
From the shadows of an alleyway, Marie surveyed a bustling brothel. At the behest of the voice in her head, she had spent the day retrieving ingredients to brew a potion. After crafting it, they had guided her here, telling Marie to wait for a certain nobleman. Two hours had passed since then. Her patience was almost gone.
‘My legs are going numb and I’m starving. If they don’t show up in the next ten minutes, I’m leaving!’ Marie ran her fingers through her dirty hair.
Marie shifted her body, trying to regain the feeling in her legs. As she leaned against a brick wall, a worn carriage came into view, stopping outside the brothel. Had multiple like it not already done so tonight, she would have perked up with excitement.
“Get ready, Marie. Your target has finally shown up,” the seductive voice said. “The man about to step out of the carriage is the one we are after. Follow them inside, get close, and add a few drops of the potion to their drink. Do what you have to make it happen. Several of my associates are nearby, making sure no one interferes.”
Marie poked her head out of the dark alley, eyes fixed on the carriage. A moment later, a muscular man and several male companions fell out onto the sidewalk. Drunk out of their minds, the idiots laughed as they struggled to get back on their feet.
“Thanks for the ride, peasant!” The muscular man chucked a bag of coins at the driver. It hit the side of his head, almost knocking him out. “Keep the animal, you filthy change.”
The driver glared daggers at him as he rubbed his head. Stowing the coin in his lockbox, the driver made a speedy getaway before another troublesome client appeared. While he sped down the roadway, his passengers staggered into the brothel.
“I assume the muscular guy is my target?” Marie scrambled across the street, avoiding a carriage by a hair’s breadth.
“That is correct. He is treating his subordinates to a night out in the capital. They are being sent to the front lines tomorrow.”
Slipping past security without issue, Marie entered the brothel. As she crossed the threshold, the thick scent of heavy perfume and incense struck her. Its intensity made her head spin.
‘Ugh… I think I’m going to puke.’ Marie leaned against the wall to steady herself. “A little warning would have been nice.”
The voice laughed at her discomfort. “My apologies. I did not think your nose would be that sensitive to aphrodisiacs and hallucinogens.”
Marie froze. The voice had mentioned nothing to her about drugs and psychedelics. Had Marie known, she would have never agreed to come here. In her past life, she had seen the devastating effects such things could have on people. She refused to become another statistic, like several of her old friends.
“Listen here, I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark about these things.” Marie staggered toward the door. “If you won’t be forthcoming with me, our deal is off. I’ll find another way to achieve the lifestyle I want.”
As she reached for the door handle, her body froze. She willed her limbs to keep moving, but they refused to listen.
An icy chill ran down Marie’s spine. “This is your doing, isn’t it?”
“I’m happy to see you are quick on the uptake. This will make things easier for both of us,” the voice said in a cruel tone. “To put it in terms that small brain of yours can understand, the people who captured you put me inside you. Your soul is stronger than most people in this world, making you a perfect host for me. Until I complete my job, the two of us are stuck together.”
Marie’s face lost all its color. She assumed the women whose engagements she had tried to end had ordered her and her family’s capture. Now she realized the truth. They were the shady figures her father had worked for to pay off his mountain of debt.
“If you have this much control over my body, why don’t you just take it over?”
“Doing so would expose me to the individual hunting my kind. We have lost so many of us that we had to change our plans. This method is more troublesome, but we stand out far less.”
With a resigned sigh, Marie pulled her hand back. This time, her body responded without issue.
“Since I don’t have a choice in the matter, I’ll do what you want. All I ask is that you don’t make me take drugs or degrade myself.” For now, Marie had resigned herself to becoming the voice’s servant.
“You are sucking the fun out of this, brat…” the voice said. “Fine, I accept your conditions.”
A new deal struck, Marie continued onward into the brothel. Making her way past the coat check, she stepped out into the main room. Gorgeous women in skimpy clothing danced on large stages throughout the space while countless more intermingled with the male patrons. Unable to see her target anymore, she slipped into the crowd to search.
“If you see him before me, say—”
A hand brushed across her backside.
“Get your hands off me!” Marie spun around and found a fat old man grinning at her. On instinct, she slammed her shin into his crotch. His face turned pale as a sheet as he crumpled to the floor.
“Keep your hands to yourself, fucker!” She kicked him in the crotch once more. “My body is for my future husbands only. Ugly bastards like you should crawl into a hole and die.”
Leaving him crying on the ground, she resumed her search. After searching the dance floor and VIP lounge, Marie was about to check the restroom when she spotted him at the bar. He was chatting up a group of curvy women.
‘There you are!’ Marie made her way over, sliding through the crowd like a snake. “To confirm, I just need to put a few drops of the potion into his drink? Anything else?”
“Once your task is complete, get well clear of this place. Your reward is waiting back in your dorm room.”
Marie felt the sudden urgency in the voice’s tone. Whatever this concoction did, she did not want to stick around to watch. Unable to turn back, Marie slid behind the man and tipped a few drops of dark liquid into his glass on the counter.
‘This was a much bigger pain in the ass than I expected. Since he won’t be needing it anymore, I will take this for myself.’
After a quick stir of his beverage, Marie swiped his wallet and disappeared into the crowd. She reached the other side of the room a minute later.
“Keep moving! He just took a sip.”
Just as she cleared the door—
Roar!
An ear-piercing roar echoed from within the brothel. The sound sent a cold shiver down her spine.
Run!
Survival instincts took over. Marie sprinted across the street into the dark alleyway she had used for cover earlier. Running at top speed for several dozen blocks, Marie staggered out of an alleyway onto a main roadway. With the stolen money, she hailed a carriage and sped back toward the Academy.
---Midnight, Principality Capital---
Performing his nightly rounds of the docks, an exhausted knight halted his patrol. A large vessel was being guided into port by the dockworkers. It was unusual for a vessel of that size to come in at this hour. Several small floating islands dotted the harbor. Without sufficient lighting, vessels risked crashing into them and plummeting into the ocean far below.
‘Must be some greenhorn merchant brat. They always think they know better than everyone else.‘
As the night had been uneventful, he strayed from his route to speak with them. If he could help prevent a future tragedy, it was worth a brief detour. Walking down the pier, he realized the ship was in pristine condition. Not a single scratch could be seen anywhere on the bow.
‘Damn, whoever is captaining this ship must have a death wish. A ship of this caliber must have cost a small fortune to construct.‘
He continued walking until he saw a crewmate tying off a mooring line.
“Evening!” The knight waved to the crewmate. “Sorry to bother you, but is your captain aware that there are hidden hazards in the harbor? It was foolhardy of you to bring your ship in without proper lighting.”
The crewmate froze. He slowly glanced over at the knight with wary, guarded eyes.
“What business is it of yours what we do? This is our ship.”
The knight’s face twitched with annoyance.
‘The fuck?! I was just trying to be helpful and save them from future trouble…‘
Instead of chewing the man out, the knight moved toward the lowering gangplank. He would speak directly with the captain and have the fool reprimanded. After all, talking disrespectfully to a capital guard was a serious offense.
The crewmate raced to the gangplank after noticing where the knight was heading.
“Hold on!” He stopped his colleagues at the top of the ramp. “We’ve got an uninvited guest.”
“I’d like a word with your captain…” The knight kept his tone strictly neutral. “Please call him for me.”
Unsure what was going on, the other crewmates looked at their colleague for an explanation. When he told them what had happened, both of them smacked him across the back of the head. They told him to apologize immediately for his rude behavior and thank the knight for his wisdom.
“Why the fuck should I?!” The original crewmate glared at them.
“Because he took the time to share his knowledge with us. Whether you thought it good or bad is irrelevant.” The older of his two colleagues smacked him again. “I told the commander bringing you along was a terrible idea.”
‘Why did he say commander instead of captain?‘
Upon closer inspection, the three bickering men did not look like sailors. They lacked the weathered, tanned skin that every true sailor possessed. Not only that, none of them had a single nautical tattoo visible on their arms or necks. Every sailor carried at least one to commemorate a special voyage or milestone in their career. He had been told by the Harbormaster that it was a sacred rite of passage among seafarers. It made little sense to him, but every sailor he had ever met carried at least one mark.
‘Something about these people does not sit right with me. I had better investigate this.‘
The knight cleared his throat loudly, commanding their attention once more.
“By order of the crown, lower your gangplank at once! Prepare to be boarded for inspection.”
All three men turned pale with terror. The knight noted the sudden shift immediately.
“Sir Knight, please forgive my stupid, ignorant friend here.” The old man wrapped an arm around the younger man’s neck and gave him a rough noogie. “On my mother’s grave, I promise he will never mouth off to you or your colleagues again.”
“I have given you a lawful order! Submit to inspection, or I will summon Lord Vandel to make you do so.” His patience was entirely at an end.
‘With all the recent attacks, I have to go with my gut here. This vessel is hiding something!‘
As the three men struggled to concoct a plausible reason to refuse, an exhausted dockworker trudged over with an unamused scowl. He wanted nothing more than to finish the docking procedure and return to his nap. If the knights started a commotion here, his sleep would be ruined for the rest of the night.
“Lord Vandel is probably sound asleep at this hour. Do you really want to rouse him over a minor disagreement with a greenhorn?” The dockworker placed a heavy hand on the knight’s shoulder armor. “If you are hellbent on getting aboard, how about waiting until dawn? Both parties can use the time to cool off and reevaluate things. Should you still want to proceed with the boarding, do it then.”
It pained the knight to admit it, but the dockworker was right. Lord Vandel might well skin him alive for waking him over what had started as a petty verbal dispute. He could afford to wait a few hours to inform the Black Knight of his suspicions. Until then, he would monitor the vessel from the pier to ensure no one disembarked.
“I suppose you are right.” The knight stood down, though his hand remained resting near his scabbard. “Lord Vandel will come inspect your vessel at dawn. No one is to disembark until he approves it.”
“Of course!” The three men said in unison, exhaling visible relief.
Their overly joyous expressions only solidified his certainty that this ship was dangerous. Since he lacked concrete proof and possessed only a sharp gut feeling, all he could do was watch and wait. With one last icy glare, the knight turned and stepped back into the shadows of the dock to keep watch.
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